After a few unsuccessful trips, I was able to see a pair of MISSISSIPPI KITES today on Mapletown Road in the Town of Root, Montgomery County. I arrived around 11:15AM and searched the area where the bird had been reported and, at 12:25PM, found a female kite perched in a dead tree across from mailbox #950. At one point, I watched her dive from the tree and come back with what looked to be a grasshopper and eat it from the perch. She then flew to two other nearby trees before returning back to the tree I first observed her in. About 1:00PM, she started calling from the perch and then a male kite appeared and landed on her back -- possible copulation! As I got my camera ready, the male flew from the female and fortunately landed on a limb above her, allowing me to get a single photo of the two birds before they both flew off. Five minutes later at 1:05PM, I saw a single kite fly over Mapletown Road heading south. Later in the day at 4:00PM, the male kite returned and I and a few other birders watched him for a bit. He (and the birders) left shortly after, but he soon reappeared and I watched him fly around and perch in several trees in the same area before heading south across the road about 20-25 minutes later.
My photos of the two birds are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjaycox/sets/72157624144212647/ There are multiple pictures of the male and female at separate times and a single photo of the pair together. The photos are in reverse chronological order. Jesse Jaycox Delmar, NY -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
